Mountain Pacific Investment Advisers LLC Trims Stock Holdings in Kadant Inc. (NYSE:KAI)

Mountain Pacific Investment Advisers LLC lessened its stake in shares of Kadant Inc. (NYSE:KAI - Free Report) by 7.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 56,859 shares of the industrial products company's stock after selling 4,793 shares during the quarter. Mountain Pacific Investment Advisers LLC owned about 0.48% of Kadant worth $19,616,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of KAI. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in Kadant by 1.8% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 314,366 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $92,355,000 after buying an additional 5,700 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of Kadant by 2.3% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 280,797 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $94,909,000 after acquiring an additional 6,412 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Kadant by 1.1% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 144,344 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $48,788,000 after purchasing an additional 1,629 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its stake in shares of Kadant by 1.6% in the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 130,291 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $44,036,000 after purchasing an additional 2,068 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Champlain Investment Partners LLC increased its holdings in Kadant by 34.8% during the 3rd quarter. Champlain Investment Partners LLC now owns 122,624 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $41,447,000 after purchasing an additional 31,675 shares during the period. 96.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Barrington Research increased their target price on Kadant from $360.00 to $410.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th.

Insider Activity at Kadant

In related news, VP Fredrik H. Westerhout sold 600 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $397.25, for a total value of $238,350.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 1,437 shares in the company, valued at approximately $570,848.25. This trade represents a 29.46 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Rebecca Martinez O'mara sold 300 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, November 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $392.59, for a total value of $117,777.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 1,293 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $507,618.87. This trade represents a 18.83 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 1,052 shares of company stock valued at $416,655. 1.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Kadant Stock Up 2.4 %

Shares of NYSE:KAI traded up $8.95 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $375.98. The company's stock had a trading volume of 82,726 shares, compared to its average volume of 115,831. Kadant Inc. has a 12-month low of $249.51 and a 12-month high of $429.95. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.48 and a beta of 1.28. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $375.95 and a 200-day moving average of $343.59. The company has a quick ratio of 1.46, a current ratio of 2.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37.

Kadant (NYSE:KAI - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The industrial products company reported $2.84 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.43 by $0.41. Kadant had a return on equity of 15.10% and a net margin of 11.12%. The company had revenue of $271.61 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $266.38 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.69 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 11.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that Kadant Inc. will post 10.11 earnings per share for the current year.

Kadant Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 10th will be paid a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 10th. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.34%. Kadant's dividend payout ratio is presently 13.10%.

Kadant Company Profile

Kadant Inc supplies technologies and engineered systems worldwide. It operates in three segments: Flow Control, Industrial Processing, and Material Handling. The Flow Control segment develops, manufactures, and markets fluid-handling systems and equipment, such as rotary joints, syphons, turbulator bars, expansion joints, and engineered steam and condensate systems; and doctoring, cleaning, and filtration systems and related consumables consisting of doctor systems and holders, doctor blades, cleaning shower and fabric-conditioning systems, forming systems and wear surfaces, and water-filtration systems.